President confirms Liverpool have held talks with £70m Man Utd target

Managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads during the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Here, Liverpool have held talks over Nicolas Pepe…

Lille president Gerard Lopez has confirmed Liverpool have held talks with the agent of Manchester United target Nicolas Pepe over a potential move this summer, according to reports in France via the Mirror.

Pepe joined Lille from Angers two years ago and has developed into one of the most exciting young attackers in French football having contributed 23 goals and 12 assists in his 41 games in all competitions last season.

The 24-year-old’s sensational form has alerted clubs here in the Premier League as The Times journalist Duncan Castles revealed last month that Liverpool and Manchester United have both expressed their interest in signing Pepe.

The Mirror suggests that as well as Liverpool and United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich are also tracking the Ivory Coast international this summer prompting Lille to slap a £70m valuation on his head.

Liverpool’s interest has now been confirmed by Lille president Gerard Lopez as he’s revealed that the Reds have held talks with Pepe’s agent over a potential move to Anfield – although he insists they’ve had no formal contact with the Ligue 1 outfit.

Gerard also confirmed they received two offers from two separate clubs before Pepe went off to represent the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations but he stopped short of revealing the identity of the suitors.

Gerard is quoted by the Mirror as telling RMC Sport:

“I know there have been discussions with the player, not with us as a club. Liverpool have players in those positions and I read that maybe there were players who could leave, or not.

“I am not particularly focused on Liverpool. But it is true that there have been discussions with agents.”

“We had two offers before the Africa Cup of Nations. We’ll see after that, my position was to see if we could not do something before it, we had two proposals before it, I had two clubs.”

Jurgen Klopp is only expected to make minor changes to his Champions League winning squad but a versatile attacker could be on the agenda as he needs support for the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane next season.

Pepe would be a superb addition as he’s able to play in any position across the front three but it remains to be seen whether Liverpool will be prepared to pay around £70m for a player who may not always be a first team regular.

READ –> Liverpool transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

We’ll also have to wait and see whether Man Utd step-up their interest in Pepe as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be in the market for a top class attacker amid speculation surrounding the future of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.